I just heard this on Futurama and thought it most hilarious: "So I ended up here, making pies out of shoes."

That's just great.

This is an interesting piece of news, and even sad in reflection. Rather than focus on the fact that this Confederate Soldier's widow lived to the incredible age of 97, I am drawn more to the story of who she was married to. Even though they were only briefly married during the twilight of his years, her connection to something that is now so far gone in our history, to me is thrilling. It was such a sad time for our country, with wounds that are probably still felt, especially in southern communities. It is a shame that a great majority of the war's stories die around us on a daily basis. Some oral histories, because of their obscurity and remoteness, are gone forever.

My Grandfather was a Cossack, part of the cavalry in the Czar's army before and during the Russian Revolution. This of course meant that he was on the losing side of that ordeal. His life's experiences were so rich, and I only wish that I was not so young, being the age of five years old, when he died. I would have loved to sit and listen to him speak. I remember him holding me and talking and singing to be, but that's pretty much it. One of my Uncles seems to know more stories about his life than does my mother, but if I don't sometime take the time to sit down and catalog those stories, they'll someday pass away forever. Oral histories are so valuable! I'm ashamed that I never begged my mother to teach me to speak, read, and write the Ukrainian language when I was younger. The dialect used by my family will also someday needlessly pass away. All I know are a handful of phrases that I was taught to say to make my Grandfather smile. Less talk and more action on my part is in order, so I must begin my endeavor to learn more about him soon.

In this picture, my Grandfather is on the left, his uncle in the middle, and his brother or cousin in the foreground on the right. The photo must have been taken sometime between 1912 and the Revolution, as he would have been in his twenties.



This is one of the few pictures that I have of me with my Grandfather. It was taken around 1975, with my Mother and Grandmother also in the shot.

Ray Charles was too young to leave this world. In his stead, now there is a void. May he find peace.

Emily and I just finished watching Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator. Everything in this movie was going on when I had just started high school, and skating meant everything to me. I refuse to believe that was seventeen years ago. Nothing else mattered then. We'd stay up all night, try to sleep from about seven in the morning until ten, then get up and go skate until the evening hours. No repsonsibilities whatsoever. It just doesn't seem real. I said that I'd skate forever. Well, forever lasted for about five years. Every once in a while I get on my old board in the garage, and tap around a little. I don't believe I'll ever skate hard again. My knees are blown from those wonderful years that I did. Growing up and skating in a small Mid-Western town didn't touch the scene that was going on out West, and I thought I was missing out. Maybe I was ---or, maybe I was lucky.

My friend Corey blogged this incredible story of Public Ignorance, and it IS the must-read of the day.

It's just absolutely amazing!!! This woman just can't stop herself!!! Courtney Love is her own worst enemy. I'd say to exile her skank self to a completely deserted island, but she'd only find a way to piss of the indigenous wildlife.

Here's the latest beauty shot of the newest member of the House of Cook. In the video that we have (yes, they can do that now also with this 4D technology, which is the coolest) the babies' profile looks so much like Rohan's it's just crazy. Not long to go!

Before this becomes old news, I'd like to throw out a HUGE congratulations to Emily's second cousin Alex Stephens for tying for fourth place in the 2004 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Our entire town of Marion is proud of him, as he has achieved an intellectual accomplishment that no one will ever take away from him. In addition to this, Alex is an amazing person with great character that will undoubtedly go on to do great things. Cheers to you Alex!

Greg at The Smoking Room jokes that the opposite sex may tar him as a "warmonger" when politics hits the fan, but my friends, he speaks the truth, even though it is not the popular version. History, though, will prove it the only version.

In response to a previous comment by Greg, no, I've never heard the Matthew Sweet comparison. About ten years ago, I heard all types, but these days, they're usually not good, as I've put on a few pounds. So I take the Sweet remark as a compliment, although I don't know if he'd like being compared to a blooming Slav like myself.

I smoked some awesome ribs tonight, and my friend Schurl came over to help get rid of them. I used Emeril's Rib Rub like always, and slathered them with a variety of Jack Daniel's brand sauces. I had them indirectly cooking over a pan of apple cider vinegar. Oh, ho, ho! They were incredible.

You know, I really like this song "Leave (Get Out)" by JoJo. Yes, yes, even I fall for bubble gum now and then. One of my favorite songs of all time is "Lady in Red" by Chris DeBerg. I even loved "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West. Remember that one?!! HA! Anyway, I hope that this JoJo gal (who is thirteen by the way) does not go the way of the trash bimbos like Christina or Britney. Just stick with the voice. If I want flesh, I'll rent some porn.

Oh my. Comedy is found sometimes when I least expect it. During the period of mourning for the death of President Ronald Reagan comes this brilliant statement by one of the world's past number one morons.

Yes, yes...I'm going to bed now.

We went to Six Flags on a whim today. There was a 50/50 chance of showers, but it barely drizzled on us on the way up. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and a perfect one for walking around, as it never got real hot. My Mom, Dad and Sister went with us, so It was definitely an interesting day, for those who know us will understand without my having to go into great detail. As for the rest of you, well, I'm not going to go into great detail...actually none, whatsoever. :) One of the highlites for me: Larissa and I rode a ride called the Slingshot which was just incredible (although it cost 15 buck for each of us). The two of us were strapped inside a type of gyroscope that was connected to two towers by steal cables. We were slung upwards, 225 ft. in 2 sec. with a force of 5Gs. Then it was a bungee like free-fall back down. It was just nuts. For the most part, our day was spent catering to the kids, because we went up mainly for their sake. They had a blast in the water park and in the kiddie land, so it was all good. They also road some of the other rides in the park at least the ones that they were tall enough to get into. I think if we had let Rohan just ride the train all day long, he would have been fine with just that. Emily didn't have the greatest time, since she's 7 months along, and they don't want "expecting mothers" to get on any of the rides. She floated on a tube on one of the water park attractions, and also rode on the Scooby Doo Swamp ride, both of which recommended that she not ride them. There's so much to tell, but as usual this is one of the last things that I'm doing before I go to bed, so I'm pretty tired. Here's a pic of us going down the last part of the log flume. Check out the fear in Rohan's face. Pretty funny.

Things that I did today:
1. Got up at 6:15am
2. Went to work, cut many sheets of OSB, and multiple rafters. Nailed off the decking on the roof.
3. Picked Rohan up from my Sister-in-law's.
4. Got home at 4:00pm
5. Mowed the lawn, accidentally killing a snake and a huge bull frog.
6. Got in the house by 7:00pm
7. Took a quick shower.
8. Helped some friends get their web-site rebuild closer to launch.
9. Hugged my Wife.
10. Finally got to eat at 9:15pm.
11. Made some phone calls.
12. Collected dirty clothes from around the house.
13. Washed Rohan's hair and got him out of the tub at 9:30
14. Helped get Rohan to bed with that final glass of water cause "I'm Firsty!" at 10:00pm
15. Drank a glass of milk, and watered the plant.
16. Checked phone messages.
17. Brushed my teeth, closed the garage doors, locked the doors, and turned off multiple lights.
18. Replied to several emails.
19. Made my website rounds.
Now it's almost 11pm.
THINGS TO LEFT TO DO:
1. Publish this post.
2. Call my friend Corey and discuss something sneaky.
3. Call Schurl and see if he agrees that it is sneaky.
4. Work on some lyrics for rehearsal tomorrow.
5. GO TO FREAKIN' BED.